Ants Are Taking Over My Garden. Help!!
My greenhouse looks like it is the meeting point for ants from all over Europe and far abroad. They're simply everywhere. I need to find a way to contain the population. Tips are welcome!
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Invasion Of Ants
I've been dealing with loads of ants in my entire garden for a couple of years now. But this year, it's definitely a lot worse than before. It's the worst in my greenhouse. Everywhere I look, I see those creepy little creatures, working their asses off all day.
I don't mind a couple of ants, but this is getting out of hand. Whatever I touch, I get a bunch of these creepers on me. IEUW!
Ants And Aphids
When doing some research on the internet, you find a lot of people saying that ants won't hurt your plants - but there are just as many people saying they do.
I know I'm partly responsible: I have aphid-trap plants like Nasturtiums and Marigolds all over my garden and in my greenhouse. Since ants have a symbiotic relationship with aphids, I could have expected even more ants to appear. The thing is: the ants were there before the plants were...
Ants and aphids coexist in a symbiotic relationship that benefits both species. Ants protect aphids from predators, such as lady bugs and wasps, and aphids secrete nutritious honeydew for ants to eat. Source
What seems like millions of ants are happily climbing the straw I used to mulch my gardening beds, hundreds at a time.
I've been looking all over, trying to find their nests, but so far, that hasn't been a success. No nest to be found.
Organic Solutions
Last year, I tried almost everything. In the end, something must have worked, but - silly as it may sound - I don't remember which of the many methods I tried finally paid off.
So I'm back to square one...
So I started trying out every (organic) trick in the book again. I do need to make sure I won't harm my plants, though. And now that my tomato plants have started to bloom, it got even more difficult to find an adequate solution.
Here's what I've tried without any result::
- Powdered sugar and baking soda
- Spreading fresh Garlic
- Planting garlic cloves
- Spraying with essential oils of peppermint, clove, lemon and tea tree
- Cinnamon
- Spraying the soil with neem oil and organic soap
- Spraying the soil with lava rock dust
They don't seem to care about the companion planting trick either. I had put a peppermint plant in the greenhouse yesterday and this morning I found it covered in ants. They are supposed to hate peppermint!
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I've been reading about the use of diatomaceous earth. I guess I could cover the soil with it (covering the plants is not an option), but I remember I've read somewhere that it stops being effective as soon as it gets wet. Since my gardening beds need watering regularly, I feel like I'm going to need tons of diatomaceous earth to get rid of all the ants.
Other options I found online were the use of coffee grounds and cotton balls soaked in lemon juice. Since we don't drink coffee, nor lemon juice, I thought I'd ask if you have ever tried one of these before. I'm sick of spending extra money on 'solutions' that don't work anyway.
Does anyone have any experience with diatomaceous earth, lemon juice or coffee grounds used to repel ants?
I'd love to hear those.
All tips that can help me to reduce the ant population in my garden are more than welcome!
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I love Ants thank for sharing
Have a week off from being @organicgardener and become @nukethelittlebastardsgaedener . I won't tell ;-) seriously don't know what to suggest cos they are a nightmare. Seriously hope you find something that helps though. Try the coffee from a local coffee shop though, if nothing else, old grounds are really good for the soil.
That was what I was thinking... if the coffee won't work, it will be at least good for the soil.
I would suggest borax and sugar(or powdered sugar) mixed together in water. They will love the sugar and if you live in a dry area(or if it's been a bit since it rained) they won't be able to resist the water. I would try to find where they are making their way inside and put it there. The workers will take the borax back and feed it to the queen, and she will die...end of colony. You may want to make a few dishes and put them around in a few areas.
NOTE: Borax is bad for humans cats and animals, so maybe put your solutions in Tupperware containers with a couple holes poked in them(or something similar) so the ants can get in but no animals. I hope you find a solution to this. Another option I think would be to get some ladybugs. Eliminate the aphids and maybe the ants will leave to.
We tried last year, not with Borax but yeast. They didn't even look at it.
I will need to look up if it works that way. The ants were there before the aphids... But then again... less aphids will probably mean less ants (an it will be more enjoyable to work in the greenhouse, lol)
I might just give it a try, thanks, @johndoer123
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One brilliant gardening video I watched, the host showed how to do it.
Locate the source of an anthill. Grab a clump of soil filled with ants from another anthill from somewhere else. Just shovel in as much of one anthill as you can into the the other one. Watch as the ants start battling one another. They might even to go inside and attack the queen.